Sample-case for shoes.



C. E. STONER.

SAMPLE CASE FOR SHOES. APPLICATION FILED MAYI'a. 1914.

Patented May 2,1916.

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SAMPLE CASE FOR SHOES. APPLICATION HLED MAY 13, |914.

Patent-ed May 2,1916.

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SAMPLE CASE FOR SHOES.

APPLICATION FILED III/w13. I9I4.

Patented May 2,1916.

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CARLTON E. STONER, 0F SIOUX CITY, IOWA.

SAMPLE-CASE FOR S-OES.

Application filed May 13, 1914. Serial No. 838,390.

To all wzom t may concern.'

Be it known that l, CARLTON E. STONER, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Sioux City, in the county of `Woodbury and State ofIowa, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Sample-Casesfor Shoes, of which the following is a speciiication.

The present invention relates to sample cases and more particularly toarticles of this class employed for carrying shoes and other footwear.

Traveling salesmen selling` shoes heretofore have employed trunks havingnumerous trays to accommodate their many samples of foot-wear. Toprevent injury to the samples thus carried, each must be separatelywrapped in a paper or fabric, prior to packing. This method isespecially undesirable due to the labor, time and space required inpacking and unpacking.

My invention has, therefore, for its primary object, the production ofan improved sample case obviating the above-mentioned defects.

Another object of the invention is the production of an article of thisclass wherein the weight and cost of production and utilization arereduced to the minimum.

lilith these and other objects in view, the invention, consisting. inthe construction, combination and novel arrangement of parts, will befullyT understood from the following;` description, reference being hadto the accompanying' drawings.v which forma part of this application andin which like characters of reference indicate corresponding' partsthroughout the several views, of which,`

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sample case constructed in accordancewith the invention, parts of the second and third upper trays of onetier being' broken away and. the casing shown in section; Fig. 2 is afragmentary side elevation of the same, one of the tiers of trays being;tilted outwardly; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of Fia'. 1; Fig. -1 is arear elevation of the rocker members and parts associated therewith;Fig. 5 is an isometric perspective view of several trays, one beingequipped with the 'shoe-retaining' means; Fig. 6 is a sideelevation of aplurality of the trays in closed position; Fig. 7 is an enlarged planview of an end of one of the travs and a shoe-retaining1 member, mountedthereon; Fig, 8 is a side elevation Specification of Letters Patent.

lPa-tented May 2, 1916.

of the same; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the heel-engaging means;Fig. l0 is a sideelevation of the clamping' bolt, the members associatedtherewith beingshown in section; and Fig. ll is a front elevation of oneof the sole-clamps.

The invention contemplates, broadly, a sample shoe case including` aplurality of trays normally superposed in a tier and pivotally secured,each to its neighbor, to permit the tier being extended to reveal thecontents. The trays are so constructed and linked together that, whenthe case is closed, alternate trays are inverted, means are provided forfirmly securing the shoes to the trays.

In the embodiment chosen for illustration, the outer casing comprisesside walls, 12, front and rear walls, 13, and upper walls 14:. The sidewalls and top are divided in the center and the lower edges of the walls13 are hinged to the floor. or base of the case, 15, whereby either halfof the case may be opened outwardly. Each half normally incloses a tierof trays.

Extending transversely of the floor, 15, are rockers which support thetrays and preferablv consist of beams, 16. havingl flanges, 17, securedto the floor. The said beams each support mated beams, 18, havinn'liane'es 19, upon which are securely mounted the lower trays. 20. Fromthe center of the lower edges of the latter beams depend ears, 23, whichare off-set laterally, overlap and are pivotally secured to oppositelyoff-set ears, 22. rising` from the lower beam, the pivots beine*coincident with the horizcntal line of meetingV of the beams: and theouter ends of the coactinn' edrres of the beams are beveled to permitthe upper rocker members to be tilted as will presently be made moreclear.

The trays. Q0 and 21. are identical but arranged alternatelv. and eachcomprises a Hoor 24, a rear wall 25. and side walls. 26, in the form ofricht-angle triansrles. the upper edges. or h vnotenuse of which extendfrom the upper edO'e of the rear wall to the front edce of the floor.

he trays are pivotallv linked together, preferably bv lazy-tongs.disposed on opposite sides of the'travs and comprising intersecting`arms` 27 and 28. alternate nodal points of which are pivoted. as at 29,on the centers of the side walls of the trays.

The free ends of theV lowerinost arms 27,

carry studs, 30, engaged within longitudi nal slots, 31, in uprightbars, 32, pivoted in bearings, 33, mounted on the floor of the case; andthe free ends of the lowermost arms, 28, are provided with studs, 34,en* gaged within slots, 35, in links, 36, pivoted to the arms 27,'intermediate the pivots 29 and 30.

rThe forward edges of the floors of the trays, 21 are hinged as at 37,to the upper edges of the rear walls of the companion trays20. Whenextended as shown in Fig. 5 and at the left of Fig. 1, the trays, 20,rest upon" small lugs, 38,'mounted upon the rear walls of the trays 21and flush with the upper edges thereof. These lugs serve to preventengagement between the forward edges of the floors of the trays 20 andthe rear walls of the trays 21, when 'the trays are being closed. Whenin closed -position the trays 21 are inverted and serve as covers fortheir mates, the triangular' side walls of the inverted trays restingupon the oppositely disposed walls of their companions. As thelazy-tongs extend and retract, the trays,21, accordingly swing upontheir hinges, from and to their inverted positions.`

Flexible links, 39, are secured at their respective ends to the lowerrear edges of the trays 21 and the forward edges of the trays, 20,above. Inasmuch as the rear halves of the trays are the heavier, andAalso support the heavier parts of the footwear, the trays tend to tipupon their pivotal supports, when the trays are extended. The links 39serve to neutralize this tendency and hold the trays 20 in engagementwith the lugs 38.

rThe rockers supporting the trays enable the operator toextend the tiersin open posit'ionv without lifting. This is accomplished by firstreleasing suitable self-snapping latches, the coacting members `ofwhich, 40 and 41, are mounted upon the sides of the rocker members, 16and 18, rhe-tier'to be opened may then be tilted byy drawingl outwardlyupon handles, 42, secured upon the sides of theuppermost trays,whereupon the tier assumes the positionshown in Fig. 2, the angled facesof the rockers, 18, resting upon the corresponding faces of the rockers,16, and the lowermost lazy-tong members', 27, engaged at the ends of theslotted links, 32. vWith continued outward movement of the tier fromthis position, the lazy-tongs extend. and while extending. cause thetrays, 21, to swing upon their hinges and approach upright positions. Asthe weight of the tier is shifted inwardly out of alinement withvpivotal points, 29, of the lowe-rmcst tray, and the rocker pivot, 23,the latter trav is induced to assume a level position and theself-snapping latches are reengaged. The trays then all assume levelpositions, as shown in: Fig. 1.

. It `,will be@observed-tbat avlenthe `tier-is respectively.

tilted rearwardly the arms 27l are engaged by the links 32, and coperatetherewith in relieving pressure upon the rocker pivots, when the tier isbeing forced rearwardly to its extended position; and the links 36 serveto prevent tendency of the lazy-tongs to further extend after all thetrays have assumed like positions.

The extended tiers may be supported in any suitable manner,preferably-however, f

by extensible legs secured upon opposite sidesl of the tiers andcomprising tubular shafts, 43, inclosing rods, 44, adjustably fsecuredtherein by set-screws, 45, or otherwise. Upper ends of the said shaftsare provided with arms,-46, the terminals of which are pivoted uponbearings, 47, depending from the uppermost trays, 21. The axes of thebearings 47, are equal distances from the front edgesof the trays andshafts, 43. By virtue of this construction the under edges of the arms46 rest upon the inverted trays and the legs embrace the rear sides ofthe tiers when closed. The legs are preferably provided with lugs, 48,which extend forwardly and laterally flush with the outer edges of thelazy-tongs and engage the side walls of the case, to preventlongitudinal play of the trays when the case is closed.

Each leg is connected with its mate by cross-members, 49, which insuretheir vstability.

To close the trays the tier is forced for`` wardly, or inwardly towardthe otherv tray,

causing the lazy-tongs to turn upon the lower pivotal points, -29, andthe trays, 21, to begin to swing upon their hinges. The movement beingcontinued, the lazy-tongs contract and thetrays, 21, finally assumeinverted positions upon their companions, and,

coincidentally, the trays, 20, are seated upon the inverted trays belowthem.

The trays'may be equipped with any suitable means for securing the shoesthereon. A general view of the preferred means for this purpose is shownin connection with the upper tray of Fig. 5 and `amplified in detail inthe succeeding figures, in which 50 isa bar, preferably angle iron, anddisposed 4longitudinally of the tray. Togglejointed levers, 51, disposedlaterally to said bar and having their ends pivoted, respectively, tothe side walls of the tray and the ends of the bar, afford means formoving the bar forwardly and rearwardly, accord ing as the direction ofthe movement of the levers. It will be seen that the togglejointedlevers, when completely depressed, hold the bar against forwardmovement. as the knuckles of the levers are below the line of theterminal pivots.

Disposed transversely of the trays and at equally space-d intervals arebolts, 52, the

forward ends of which pass freely Ithrough thehun-L50, (Fig. 1. 10)The:v'rear enfdssol esi said bolts are provided with heads and incloseslidably mounted blocks, 53, having rearwardly extending arms, 54,provided with sharply toothed ends. The said blocks slide upon guideplates, 55, secured to the floor of the tray and the side edges of whichare overturned and engaged within grooves 56, in the sides of theblocks, (Fig. 9). The intermediate portions of the bolts are threaded toreceive knurled nuts, 57, between which and the bar 50, are interposedcompression springs, 58; and between the nuts and the armed blocks thebolts are encircled by compression-springs, 59, somewhat weaker thantheir neighbors. r

' The forward ends of the bolts, 52, are pivotally secured to oppositelydisposed arms, 60, extending forwardly from their pivotal points andcurved outwardly. These arms resemble very much the familiar skateclamps, the outer ends being turned upwardly, as at 61, to engage thesoles of the shoes. The extreme ends of the arms are preferably turnedinwardly, and the hook thus formed lined with felt, 62, or otheryieldable material, to prevent injury to the foot-wear. The intermediateportions of the arms are provided with slots, 63, which follow thegeneral contour of the arms and slidably inclose guide studs, 64,secured upon the tray.

Mounted upon the rear wall .are blocks, 65, each alined with one of theheel-engaging blocks, 53, and positioned suffciently high to engage theupper edges of the counters of the shoes. These grips, 65, of rubber orother yieldable material, are preferably triangular in transversesection and have their faces beveled inwardly from the edges to commonpoints at the centers.

By virtue of the structure now disclosed it is clear that when thelevers 51, are moved upwardly, the bars coacting therewith will move thebolts and attached clamping members forwardly clamps. The shoes may thenbe placed in position upon the tray and the levers 51 depressed,whereupon the barA 50 will coact with the compression-springs, to bringthe heel grips 53 into firm engagement with the of the tray breasts ofthe heels, rearward movement of.

the shoes being prevented by the grips, 65, as previously stated. Afterthe grips have thus engaged the heels, the compression springs, uponfurther rearward movement of the bar, yield, and thus permit the boltsto move independently of the grips 53 and bring the clamps intoengagement with the soles. Inasmuch as shoes of varying styles and sizesare displayed upon each tray, and the clamps therefor are controlled bya common member, .as the bar 50, it follows that a yieldable means asthe compression-spring 58, must be introduced, to .oppose movement andfurther spread the sole-l Aouter case,

Obviously, the normal tension of eachF compression-spring relative tothat of its neighbor may be altered, by movement of the nut whichseparates them.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,-

A sample-case including an outer case, a series of trays inclosabletherein, alternate trays being normally reversed, each with respect tothe adjacent trays, means for extending the series to reveal thecontents of the trays, and means for placing the trays in likepositions, eachv with respect to the others.

2. A sample case including an outer case, a series of trays inclosabletherein, alternate trays being' normally reversed, each with respecttothe adjacent trays, and means for supporting and extending andcoincidentally placing the trays in like positions, each with respect tothe others.

8. A sample-case including an outer case, superposed trays inclosabletherein and connected in pairs, alternate trays being hinged to andnormally inverted upon their mates, and means for supporting andextending the trays and coincidentally righting said alternate trays.

11. A sample-case including a suitable outer case, superposed traysinclosable therein and connected in pairs, alternate trays being hingedto and normally inverted upon their mates, lazy-tongs on opposite sidesof the trays and each having their alternate nodal points pivoted to thetrays, whereby the trays may be extended and said alternate traysrighted, and means for the trays in extended position.

5. A sample-case outer case, superposed trays inclosable therein andarranged in pairs, alternate trays being hinged to and normally invertedupon their mates, lazy-tongs on opposite sides of the trays and havingtheir alternate nodal points pivoted to the trays, whereby the trays maybe extended and said alternate trays righted, and links betweencompanion arms of the lazy-tongs to prevent further extension of thelatter after the trays have .all assumed like positions.

6. Al sample-case comprising a suitable superposed trays inclosabletherein, pivoted to tilt rearwardly, and arranged in pairs, alternatetrays being hinged to and normally inverted upon their mates, lazytongson opposite sides of the trays and having their alternate nodal pointspivoted to the trays, whereby the trays may be extendmaintaining ,y 110including a suitable point, links 4 trays,

posite sides tions,

ed and said alternate trays rightedby forcing the trays rearwardly fromtheir tilted position, means .for preventing further extension of thelazy-tongs after the trays have all assumed like positions, and meansfor maintaining the trays in extended position.

7. A sample-case comprising a suitable outer case, superposed traysinclosable therein, pivoted to tilt rearwardly, and arranged in pairs,alternate trays being hinged to and normally inverted upon their mates,lazy-tongs on opposite sides of the trays and having their alternatenodal points pivoted to the trays, whereby the trays may be extended andsaid alternate trays righted by forcing the trays rearwardly from theirtilted position, means for preventing further extension of the lazytongsafter-the trays have all assumed like positions, means for maintainingthe trays in extended position, and means for securing the samples tothe trays.

8. A sample-case comprising a suitable outer case, superposed traysinclosable therein and arranged in pairs, alternate trays being hingedto and normally inverted upon their mates, 'lazy-tongs on opposite sidesof the trays and having their alternate nodal points pivoted to thetrays, rockers supporting the trays, links secured to the case andengageable, respectively, with the foremost free ends of the lazy-tongsto prevent tilting of the trays beyond a given secured to lower arms ofthe lazy-tongs and engageable, respectively with the mates of said armsto prevent extension of the lazy-tongs beyond a given point, and meansfor supporting the trays in extended position.

9.1A sample-case base and duplicate outer cases hinged at opposite sidesthereof, duplicate tiers of inclosable by said cases and each pivotedupon the base to tilt outwardly, said trays being arranged in pairs,alternate trays being` hinged to invert and serve as covers for theirmates, lazy-tongs on opof each tier and having ltheir alternate nodalpoints pivoted to the trays, whereby the tiers may be extended and theinverted trays righted 'when the tiersl are forced rearwardly from theirtilted posimeans for preventing further extension of the lazy-tongsafter the trays have assumed like positions, means for sustain- Copiesof this patent may be for shoes comprising a ing the tiers in extendedposition, and means for preventing displacement of the shoes. upon thetrays.. i

10. A sample-case for shoes comprising a' base and duplicate outer caseshinged at oppositesides thereof, duplicate tiers of. trays, inclosableby said cases and each pivoted upon the base to tilt outwardly, saidtrays being arranged in pairs, alternate .trays being hinged to invertand yserve as covers for their mates, lazy-tongs onfopposite" sides ofeach tierand having their alternate nodal points pivoted to the trays,whereby 4the tiers may be extended and the inverted trays righted whenthe tiers are forced rearwardly from their tilted positions, means forpreventing further extension of the lazytongs after the trays haveassumed like positions,.extensible legs pivoted to theuppermost traysand adapted to support the tiers when the latter are extended andembrace them when inclosed in the cases.

11. A sample-case for shoes comprising'a base and duplicate outer caseshinged at opposite sides thereof, duplicate tiers of trays inclosable bysaid cases and each pivoted upon the base to tilt outwardly, said traysbeing arranged in pairs, alternate trays having their forward edgeshinged tov the' rear edges of their mates, said alternate trays beingnormally inverted to serve as covers for their mates, lazy-tongs onopposite sides of each tier and having their lal-` ternate nodal pointspivoted to the trays whereby the tiers may be extended and the invertedtrays righted when the tiers are forced outwardly from their tiltedpositions, means for preventing further extension of the lazy-tongsafter the trays have assumed like positions, means for sustaining thetiers in extended'position, stops on the upper Irear edges of saidalternate trays to engage the trays above when the'tiers are extended,

the lower rear edges theforward flexible links `between of said'yalternate trays and edges of the trays above, ventingv displacement ofthe shoes upon the trays. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses. CARLTON E. STONER.

llVitnesses:

M. S. CRANDALL, HELEN GARLOCK.

obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. C.

andmean's for prei

